Parent FAQs

The first few weeks of college are busy! The University and campus organizations sponsor different events throughout the first two weeks which is called Welcome Week. Students can enjoy outdoor movies, sand volleyball tournaments, magicians, service projects, and lots of other fun activities with a ton of free prizes and food at many of the events. There is a calendar of events provided the weekend prior to classes starting with all of the events and activities. Visit orientation.nku.edu for a tentative schedule of events.

Campus employment can be obtained by submitting an application through NKU’s online employment system.

• Click the link on the middle of the page that says STUDENT EMPLOYMENT.
• Under Job Opportunities, click the link under STAFF & STUDENT JOB SEEKERS.
• There is a link on the left-hand side of this page:  STUDENT EMPLOYMENT.
• This will direct your student to the Human Resources Online Employment Site, where available jobs are posted! Be sure to check back often! Employment opportunities become available throughout the semester.

NOTE: Some positions are designated as work study positions.  To qualify for a work study position, your student must submit the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) to the Office of Student Financial Assistance and be approved for the student work study program.

The Office of Health, Counseling, and Student Wellness is located on the fourth floor of the University Center. The hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 4:00pm. To make an appointment, have your student call (859)-572-5650. The Office of Health, Counseling and Student Wellness also includes an emergency and urgent care facility listing on their website.

Walk-in services on campus include the following: Basic First Aid for minor wounds, Blood Pressure Monitoring, Confidential Pregnancy Test, and Diabetes Screening Nutritional Counseling for Weight Control, Over-the-Counter Medications, Referrals, Strep Throat Culture, Urinary Tract Infection Testing, and Vision & Hearing Screenings

Services by appointment include the following: Nurse Practitioner Appointments, Physical Exams, Immunotherapy, Flu Vaccines, Immunizations, and TB Skin Testing.

Most students are able to manage living on campus without a bike or car. However, it depends on your student's unique situation. Is he/she working off-campus? How far is he/she from home? These are a few questions to consider in the decision of whether or not a student needs a vehicle on campus.

All NKU students ride the Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky (TANK) buses for free by showing their NKU All Card. There are several stops near campus and buses also go into Cincinnati and the surrounding areas. For more information on TANK, visit: http://www.tankbus.org/.

There are bike racks located throughout campus and in the Residential Village. Both bikes and cars are permitted on campus. Parking passes are required for vehicles paring on campus and are available through Parking Services. The Parking Services office is located across from BB&T Arena at Northern Kentucky University, on the top level of the Welcome Center Parking Garage. The office hours are Monday through Thursday from 7:30am-5:30pm and Friday from 7:30am-4:30pm. The office phone number is (859) 572-5505.

NKU’s FREE Family Association is open to all current and alumni parents.  The mission of the Family Association is to:

• Empower parents/parental figures to play a supportive role in their student’s education and development.
• Provide a link between NKU students, parents and the university community. 
• Encourage active participation in partnering with the university’s mission and values.

The academic calendar as well as other important campus calendars are accessible from NKU’s main website. Visit the NKU calendar page for a list of campus calendars and campus holidays.

Visitor parking is located in the Welcome Center, University, and Kenton Garages. Fees for the garages range from $1-$6.50 for visiting hours. If you have specific visitor parking questions please visit http://inside.nku.edu/parking/visit.html or call (859) 572-5505.

Yes, NORSE A!ert! By visiting norsealert your student can sign up for this free service as well as learn about the services NORSE A!ert provides. Ask your student to include your home and/or cell phone number to the list of his or her contacts. Students can enter up to three phone numbers including land lines.  NORSE A!ert! will keep students, faculty and staff informed during threatening situations and weather-related closings.

Yes, the mission of the Northern Kentucky University Police Department is to serve, educate, and protect the public through community collaboration, problem recognition, problem resolution and police action. Crime reports and daily crime logs are available on the Department of Public Safety’s website: nku.edu/police

Yes, there are computers labs available in two of the residence halls (University Suites & Callahan Hall) as well as multiple academic buildings on campus (Griffin Hall, the Math, Education & Psychology building, Founders Hall, Science Center).  There are also multiple computers located in the Steely Library.  

For the complete list of computer resources according to department, visit: http://it.nku.edu/svccatalog/labsprinting.html. For the specific locations of computers on campus visit: http://it.nku.edu/svccatalog/labsprinting/labs.html.

The selection of a computer for your student is a personal decision based on desired features and price.  NKU students can receive an education discount on DELL and Apple computers.

Students in an art program can find computer recommendations at computer.

For the first time in 2012, all residence halls were open for students to stay over winter break. If students plan to stay, please ensure they communicate clearly with their Resident Assistants regarding when they will be in the residence hall. For more information, visit nku.edu/housing or call (859) 572-5676.

Residents will be permitted 24-hour guest visitation to allow students the flexibility to visit each other's rooms.  However, this does not permit or condone cohabitation. All regularly assigned occupants of the room must agree to and be responsible for guests. Any guest of the opposite sex must be 18 years of age or older, or a Northern Kentucky University student. S/he must be escorted to and from the resident's room. Any guest must be accompanied by the resident. These policies, to respect the rights of privacy of all residents, shall be supervised by members of the residence hall staff. Residents must remain in the unit whenever their guest is in the apartment/room.

• Go to class!
• Get involved! 
• Communicate with their professors! 
• Meet new people!

Open a PNC Bank account on campus

Northern Kentucky University has a campus banking relationship with PNC Bank to help you attend to your banking needs with a variety of online and mobile banking tools and ATMs.

PNC offers banking services designed especially for students, including the ability to link your PNC accounts to your All Card. PNC has 3 ATMs located around campus – Norse Commons, Steely Library and the University Center.

You can find more information about PNC Bank’s on-campus services at pnc.com/nku.

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